This blog is my place to vent and share resources with other parents of children of trauma. I try to be open and honest about my feelings in order to help others know they are not alone. Therapeutic parenting of adopted teenagers with RAD and other severe mental illnesses and issues (plus "neurotypical" teens) , is not easy, and there are time when I say what I feel... at the moment. We're all human!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Urgent!! Edited

OK, I'm convinced! I will tell the school, NO!!!!!! THANKS y'all!!

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Anyone read the book "Night" (I think it's about the Holocaust) or "Of Mice and Men" recently? I've never even heard of "Night" and it's been forever since I read "Of Mice and Men." Please ask around!

8 comments:

I dont know about of Mice and Men - but anything about the Holecaust would not be appropriate. Here is some of the summary of NIGHT from Wikipedia:Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father, Shlomo,(Translated to Chlomo, in German) in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. In just over 100 pages of sparse and fragmented narrative, Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father-child relationship as Shlomo declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful teenage caregiver. "If only I could get rid of this dead weight ... Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever." In Night, everything is inverted, every value destroyed. "Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends," a Kapo tells him. "Everyone lives and dies for himself alone."[1]

They are both really awful choices.I read them more then 30 years ago, and both hauntme still.It is clear to me that they were chosen by idiots, who think the low IQ kids need short, (deceptively) simply written books. I have a strong belief that the best kids literature is truly literature. Charlotte's Web and Little House?They are both masterpieces, whose depths have yet to be fully plumbed by me, an adult who went to fancy pants universities. I call bullshit on these choices, and agree with your implicit reaction: no way are these good books for a traumatized child.

"Night", while a wonderful book, sounds like a terrible choice for Kitty. Its entire point is loss.

And in checking the Wikipedia article about it, it sounds like an even worse idea:

"Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father-child relationship as Shlomo declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful teenage caregiver. 'If only I could get rid of this dead weight ... Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever.' In Night, everything is inverted, every value destroyed. 'Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends,' a Kapo tells him. 'Everyone lives and dies for himself alone.'"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_(book)

Of Mice and Men has some very disturbing images including a mentally challenged man, Lenny, choking a woman to death and subsequently being shot by George, his caretaker/friend. Sure, it could be looked upon as an act of mercy, but on the surface it seems like Lenny trusted George, told him he had done something wrong, and was shot for it. I cannot imagine a teacher who knows your daughter's history would even dream that this is an acceptable choice. I would not let her read this.

Not Night, oh Goodness, not Night. It is a memoir of a man in a concentration camp. Definitely not appropriate for Kitty's issues. I read it in a mainstream class in Grade 9 or 10 and I haven't ever gone back to read it again, which is highly unusual for me.

A very important story to be told, but not one Kitty needs at the present time

About Me

I'm the admin for a large, international support group on Face Book called Parenting Attachment Challenged Children. I have a Masters degree in Social Work, a bachelors in Psychology with a focus on child abuse and neglect, and over 30 years of experience working with children and families, in particular those with special needs
Hubby and I adopted special needs teenage siblings in 2008 - a son, (Bear, age 24) and daughter, (Kitty, age 22). Both are diagnosed with RAD, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder, C-PTSD, brain injuries... and many other diagnoses. We also have two younger bio children, a daughter, (Bob - see the post "What about Bob" if you're dying to know how she got her nickname -age 20) and a son, (Ponito, 18).
I love to help, and I hope my blog provides resources and support for parents struggling with children with attachment and trauma challenges.

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Books, Methods, and Resources Review

BOOKS, METHODS, AND RESOURCES REVIEW

This is a "living anecdotal document" reviewing books and methods specific to the many issues in parenting children of trauma that I have come across over the years. I share it with you, because I wish I'd been able to find resources when we started this process. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, or additions!**********************************INTRODUCTION - Books, Methods, and Resources Review